We've had a spate of Bank Holidays recently, so we asked you to let us know what you got up to on the last one. It wasn't the brightest of Bank Holidays, admittedly, but that didn't stop a few of you from getting out into the hills and reporting back to us. Here are a couple of stories we've had so far, featuring two very different ways of spending the day off work. If you've got any Bank Holiday photos or anecdotes to add, email them to susan@magicalia.com. There are plenty of inspiring photos from the weekend in the gallery as well. In the meantime, thanks to Jeff Tomlinson and Marcus Crompton for their reports.
Our first report comes from Jeff Tomlinson who spent a four hour stint climbing up Devil's Kitchen on Y-Garn, and back down again, over the weekend. He's just back from the Himalayas, and you might think Snowdonia would pale a little by comparison. But no, Jeff's not complaining. He says: "we should still count ourselves lucky to have these hills to visit. Everybody needs to contribute to looking after them, even if it's only by taking their litter home with them."
Meanwhile, Marcus Crompton was enjoying an even more energetic weekend. He said it was "a bit cold and blowy for walking" - so, time for a pint then? Not at all, if it's too cold to walk, try running instead! Here's his report of fell racing near Shutlingstoe:
"Like a lot of other people around the country, we braved the Bank Holiday Monday showers to go to a village fete. This was the Wildboarclough Rose Queen Fete, which features the crowning of the Queen and her attendants, a pet show, childrens' races and a Grand Prize Draw, as well as the Shutlingsloe Fell Race. Starting from the fields in front of Cragg Hall, it descends to cross the Clough Brook (only calf-deep today) before climbing a steep mud chute through the bluebell woods, takes a short hop along a farm track, and then makes the steep climb up to the summit of the “Staffordshire Matterhorn” at 506m.
I hung around at race registration until number 13 had been taken by someone else. Shortly after I'd paid my £2, it belted down with hail and it didn't seem to be such a good idea, but luckily enough it cleared up for the run itself and I had the pleasure of completing the 2 mile course in around 25 minutes. Lots of spectators, including Lady Derby and Nicholas Winterton MP, cheered the runners in. Some personal highlights were: treading on Lord Derby on the way up from the river, not falling over even once, and the very happy lady stamping hands (with ink, to prove we'd made it) at the trig-pillar. My worst moments came towards the end when I woefully underestimated the amount of climbing to do to reach Cragg Hall again and ended with a slow jog rather than a glorious sprint for the line.
Mrs C enjoyed herself at the fete, and bought some nice rhubarb, while Dizzy and Tugger just got confused watching me run off into the distance. Of course they had to go for a walk afterwards, and as Shutlingsloe was quite close by…"
Marcus Crompton
